Tuesday, February 27, 2007

How can you help?


Please make sure to scroll down and the bottom post below so that you can view the needs list.
How can you help?
There are many ways that you can help.
1. Be a monthly sponsor for a child
2. Make a one time monetary donation
3. Maybe you want to buy something and donate it, or through your spring cleaning you have some donations of "needs" items to send
4. Perhaps you would be interesting in being a host family for children on medical Visas while in the US
5. Maybe your a Doctor and you want to donate some of your time?
6. Certainly you can pray!
Meet Melissa. :)
Melissa had polio and has no use of her legs. It has been speculated in Haiti that she may need her legs amputated. We are prayerful that Melissa can come here on a medical Visa and get some leg braces and arm crutches and be able to walk someday! We would like to help her avoid having her legs amputated! Yikes!!
There are many hard and sad things about Haiti but the one that seems to be the most difficult is the way that people with disabilities are treated. Melissa needs to be able to get around, which is hard enough in Haiti, even for people whose legs both work. Let's help Melissa be in the best position to thrive in her harsh surroundings and give her a happy future!
Let us know how you can help!
The HAHO Team

Please Pray


Right now Brother Tony has five children with hydrocephalus in his Hospice care center. There are other children/infants with hydrocephalus that are at home with the families waiting to come into Tony's care or to get medical care. There is a team of doctors (neurosurgeons) going to PAP in late March to help do shunt surgeries on the children and to train the Haitian doctors on how to perform shunt surgeries. Please keep all of the children in your prayers while they are waiting in pain, its so hard to imagine the amount that they are suffering. There are two children who have failed shunts, one of them is Peterson above. Peterson also has bed sores all over his head that is why it is bandaged up to keep it clean and protected the best that Tony can do in Haiti with limited resources. Bed sores are common for the babies and children with hydrocephalus because the skin is so thin and fragile from the "water" on the brain causing the skull to grow and grow.
We want to educate people with this blog and not scare people or put "scary" looking children's pictures out there in order to shock people into helping them. The sad fact is that sometimes that is what it takes to get people motivated to do something! But most importantly these children, all of them, with all their special needs, are God's beautiful children. Please don't look at the pictures in horror but in prayer. I have included more information about Hydrocephalus below. Any children that are unable to be helped in March by the Neuro team from Miami we will be seeking medical treatment in the US for them. We are thankful to the doctors because just knowing that they will be seen and evaluated is so vital!
Here is a link to a story about the wonderful doctors from Miami and the work that they do in Haiti:
What is Hydrocephalus?
Hydrocephalus is an abnormal buildup of the brain’s normal water-like fluid (cerebrospinal fluid or CSF).
How do you treat hydrocephalus?
The most common way is the surgical diversion of the excess fluid by placing a synthetic tube (shunt) into the ventricle.

What is a shunt?
A shunt is a tube that diverts the excess fluid from the expanded brain cavity (ventricle) to another part of the body. This procedure re-directs the fluid to another body cavity such as the abdomen. In most cases, the fluid is diverted to the peritoneal cavity in the abdomen or one of the chambers of the heart.
A shunt is usually composed of three parts: a silicone catheter that enters the enlarged ventricle; a one-way valve that only allows flow away from the ventricle; and tubing which enters the cavity that is to receive the fluid. Each valve is designed to operate at a set pressure, so that a high-pressure valve will allow less fluid to flow through it than a low-pressure valve. A variety of valve designs are available and efforts are constantly underway to improve them. The entire shunt system is placed underneath the skin.
Although, shunting systems represent a major medical breakthrough, patients are still left vulnerable to complications, most notably obstruction or infection of the shunt. However, most people diagnosed with hydrocephalus live full and active lives.

Can a shunt break?
Despite their success rate, shunts have potential problems. The most common complications are:
Bacterial infection and
Obstruction.
Infected shunts are treated with antibiotics and the removal and replacement of the system. Infections are typically accompanied by fever, redness and swelling along the tubing under the skin. Drainage of infected liquid (pus) from one of the incisions used to insert the shunt may also occur.
When a shunt is obstructed it no longer is able to drain fluid from the ventricles. This results in elevated intracranial pressure, causing headache, vomiting, lethargy, and sometimes double or blurred vision. Frequently such elevated pressure can be relieved temporarily by draining the shunt’s valve or reservoir with a needle. However, an operation to replace part or all of the shunt is generally required.
It is important for people with shunts to maintain contact with their neurosurgeon to ensure quick and accurate assessment of any problems that may arise.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Praise Report

A few weeks ago, I spoke with Pastor James Hill of "Experiencing God Christian Fellowship"Church, here in San Diego about how badly Holy Angels Hospice Orphanage needs sponsorship for the children.

At their board meeting, the church voted to have HolyAngels Hospice as their international mission outreach and to providef inancial support. They are a small church, but they pull together and do great things.

I am so excited!

I just got off the phone with the Pastor. Anothergreat thing is that the pastor's wife is a nurse (RN), so she can help us with some of the medical questions we might have.

Here is their information:
Experiencing God Christian Fellowship
3065 Rosecrans Place, Ste. 202
San Diego, CA 92110
email: revjamesthill@msn.com
www.experiencinggodcf.com

Thank you, what a blessing! - For the people reading this blog --- we still need more sponsors!

Cerebral Palsy Children in Need

Meet some of Brother Tony's boys:
Ciprian, age 3, CP
Vincent, age 7, CP
Wadenes, age 6, CP
Zephinias, age 7, CP

















These boys are in need of physical therapy and possible surgery.

Your sponsorship would make a big difference.


Meet Brother Tony, he is the founder and director of Holy Angels Hospice Orphanage, located in Port au Prince, Haiti.

Holy Angels has 501(c)(3) status in the U.S. and all donations are tax deductible.

Please email Holy_Angels_Haiti@yahoo.com if you would like to help. Also, you can send a tax deductible donation to:


Holy Angels Children Society
P.O. Box 2142, South Hampton, NJ 08088

Or you can donated directly through the Charity Advantage/Network for Good Website:
https://www.networkforgood.org/donate/MakeDonation2.aspx?ORGID2=412154102&vlrStatCode=9C6VuG76jghzknL5FbrqRRSRvY85YYqkFUe11qo0VI9l0TWRQf%2btVahae3%2bdFSpt

Currently, Brother Tony cares for 22 children with varying disabilities. He desparately needs monthly sponsors to help pay for food and medical treatment for the children.

Also, there is a desparate need for the following supplies:

  • Latex Gloves
  • Cling Rolled Bandages
  • Antibiotic Cream
  • Hydrocortisone Cream
  • Disposable Diapers (size 6 - the largest)
  • Soy Baby Formula
  • 6 Fr. Pediatric Feeding Tubes
  • 12 Inverter Batteries
  • 6.5 Diesel Generator
  • Canned Meats, Fish, Tuna, Ham
  • Boy's Sunday Clothing & Sandals
  • Working Laptop Computer
  • Digital Camera
  • Children Sized Wheelchairs & Strollers with head support